


Cipher Chatter

by Symolyn



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Conversations, Double Agents, F/M, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Symolyn/pseuds/Symolyn
Summary: Conversations of Imperial Agent, Cipher Nine D’dhellia Kel throughout Forged Alliances, Shadow of Revan, KOTFE, KOTET and on.Differing point of views throughout this work.
Relationships: Female Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine/Raina Temple, Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine/Phi-Ton, Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine/Theron Shan, Kaliyo Djannis/Female Imperial Agent | Cipher Nine, Lana Beniko/Original Female Character(s), Theron Shan & Female Imperial Agent, Theron Shan & Original Female Character(s), Theron Shan/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	1. Cipher - Kaliyo

**Author's Note:**

> Original character description:  
> Light green female Twi'lek  
> Massive scarring on right cheek, wears a steel jaw casing which transforms her voice  
> Petite figure  
> Lawful neutral  
> Dislikes people who don’t stand up for themselves  
> Dislikes racial prejudice  
> Likes recognition for contribution  
> Likes professional expertise

“You like him, don’t you?” The moment the sliding doors closed behind them, Kaliyo had turned around with her hands in her sides, looking at the Imperial agent mockingly. 

“I don’t know to whom you are referring,” D’dhellia replied, calmer than she felt. In fact, she knew exactly who. They had just seen in person the man whose voice they had already become familiar with during the last mission. The voice had been handsome, but the man belonging to it even more so. Not that the cipher would ever admit it.

“You asked him to join your precious Empire! Ha! That’s the biggest compliment I’ve ever heard coming from you,” Kaliyo continued, an expression of thorough amusement on her face. 

A pale green lekku on D’dhellia ’s head twitched as she tried to restrain her emotions. It had been a stupid thing to say to him. Especially in front of Lana. She didn’t know the Sith well enough to allow such personal opinions to be shown. Even if her main objective had been to flatter Theron into paying less attention to her actions, she should not have opted for such a display in front of the Sith. 

Unconsciously her hand went to her neck, brushing over the deep scars that covered the right side of her neck and face. Her fingers touched the steel jawlock which covered the worst of it. Then her eyes caught Kaliyo staring at her, grinning. Quickly she lowered her hand, forcing herself to stop showing these signs of emotional distress, which Kaliyo could recognize after their long period of working together. 

“Theron Shan is one of the best Intelligence agents they have. I’ve heard his name often enough to be impressive, but not so many times to be unworthy of a spy. Of course I would be happy for him to join the Empire.”

“Always the professional, huh?” Kaliyo chuckled. “And while you were running background checks in your head, I was busy checking out that broad, muscled chest of his. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice. The guy is ripped!” She brought her face close to D’dhellia ’s, challenging her with that characteristic nonchalance. 

“You are a woman, right, cipher? I mean, it’s okay if you play for the other team, but I think I would have noticed by now. On second thought, if you do, let me know. We can have some fun together, you and I.” Her voice was husky and low. It brought a smile to the agent’s pale green face despite herself. Around Kaliyo it was always difficult to maintain the stoic, professional front she usually adopted. There was something about the woman that was disarming and charming, if you were able to look past the murder and anarchy, which she was generally able to do.

“I thank you to leave my personal preferences to myself. Now, do you think it would be possible for us to get back to the Phantom? I have some leads of my own to follow while Lana does her digging for Revanite sympathizers.” The former cipher Nine walked briskly in the direction of the shuttle station, hearing Kaliyo chuckle loudly behind her.


	2. Theron - Cipher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During Forged Alliances

Theron’s breath hitched as she walked into the room. She was dressed in full white uniform, ready for a debriefing and looking as Imperial as she could. Only a dictatorial, overly formal society like the Empire could instill such stubborn habits in its subjects as dressing formally for debriefing. Theron couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen his official Republic Intelligence uniform. But then he’d been in the field a lot lately. 

Despite the warning signs, the clear and unavoidable fact that she was Imperial, and apparently proud to be so, he couldn’t help but feel his palms grow sweaty. His heart pounded louder and louder until he could hear it echo in his ears, and it suddenly became a lot more difficult to stand still. In an effort to look smooth and cool, he leaned against the conference table, folding his arms securely in front of his chest and lifting his chin up. 

As she approached, he had time to observe her slender figure, wrapped tightly in the uniform which showed off all her curves in all the right places (if the Empire could be called anything, it was surely chauvinistic). She was wearing a large steel jaw casing, which contrasted her light green skin. It didn’t cover her mouth. Her voluptuous soft (surely they must be soft right?) lips could still be seen. But it lined her entire jaw line, spreading out to her ears and covering those. He wondered why she would wear such coarse facial wear, when she herself was elegant and petite. Surely it had something to do with the lines of scars that ran out from underneath the right side of the casing. In between research for the Revanite case, he had done some digging on her. But nothing about this had come up. No tragic accident, no Imperial punishment, in fact, nothing much about her appearance or personal life. Well, she was a spy like him. He could hardly ask her about him. If she even replied, it would be a lie. He knew, because he would do the same. 

“Any ally right now is a welcome ally,” he heard himself say, cursing himself for it right away. An ally?! She would stab him in the back the moment he would show the slightest sign of working against the Empire. His chances of getting her in his bed were higher at this point than being able to trust her as an ally, or Lana for that matter. That was not a good comparison. His breath grew faster thinking of that comparison. He had to control himself. 

Control was easily lost when she called him out on his coyness, tantalizing him with practiced expertise. A lady spy. Of course seduction would be a tool in her arsenal. It wouldn’t have thrown him off so easily if it hadn’t been true. But he couldn’t allow himself to feel it. What was it Master Zho used to say? Control your feelings, don’t let your feelings control you? But Master Zho had likely never been faced with this force of a woman. 

Instead, Theron stumbled through the next sentence, trying and failing to play it cool. 

“If I may say, Agent Shan, you appear to be rather flush all of a sudden,” the always helpful droid butted in. In that moment, Theron could have happily shot a blaster through the machine’s circuits. Even worse was realizing his face had been growing hot and probably visibly red. With a blink of his implants, he clearly saw his core body temperature spiking. He had to get out of here.

“We’re gonna-” he started, then tried again. “Jakarro and I and the droid, we’re leaving now so you can have your official Imperial debrief or whatever.” The one that you got dressed for, he added in his head. As he quickly made his way out of the room, she gave him a sly smile. Or was he only imagining it? 


	3. Cipher - Phi-Ton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between Forged Alliances and Shadow of Revan

“Would you like to take a break for a while, sir?” Raina Temple asked. “We could go to Voss.”

“There is nothing pointing at Revanite presence on Voss,” D’dhellia replied absent-mindedly, typing fast into a console. 

“Yes, sir. I meant, not as a lead. You always enjoy going to Voss,” ensign Temple tried again. “Please forgive me if I’ve overstepped my boundaries.” She added thoughtfully. 

“You have,” D’dhellia answered, straightening her back, painful from being hunched over the console for hours on end. “But yes, why not go to Voss. If anything it’s remote, and it will help me focus on working through these heaps of data.” 

“Yessir,” Raina replied relieved, quickly typing the coordinates into the computer. 

For the last couple of months, official Imperial missions and information gathering on the order of Revan had run side by side. The first was always covert, the second had to be kept covert from the people who ran the covert ops. The situation was made more difficult by the fact that these traitors could be anywhere. In the absence of their new allies, Lana Beniko and Theron Shan, D’dhellia had felt the strain and pressure of juggling these two priorities. It was not unlike the pressure she’d felt in her role as double spy for the Republic. They were the toughest kind of missions. She could handle it, of course, but a break was welcome. And Raina was right; she did always enjoy going to Voss.

\--  
The ship docked in the elegant foreigner’s space station, which recently had been moved from planet-side to orbit. It was the influx of foreign visitors, mostly Imperial, which sparked the need for a larger station with more room for identifying who went to and from the planet. This was a good development for the Empire, as the Voss were slowly opening up to foreign relations. The changes were not coming on fast enough though. When she had left Voss the situation had looked better than it did now. A large number of Voss still believed in the vision of 3000 days neutrality, and the Empire had only been able to gain a slight advantage on them. 

“Greetings and welcome to Voss, visitor,” the Voss official at the entrance of the space station greeted her. “Please move along to the shuttle, which will take you to the Foreigner’s Enclave in Voss-Ka.” He indicated her towards the shuttle bay with that smooth movement of hand which was so characteristic to the Voss people. 

“I am no visitor,” she replied confidently, bringing herself up to full height, although she would always be at least two heads shorter than the smallest Voss. “I am wife to Phi-Ton of the family of Niya-Ton. You shall bring me directly to Voss-Ka.”

The man seemed taken aback, then interested. “I have heard of the foreign marriage of Phi-Ton, son of Bas-Ton. It is an honor to meet you. You are indeed Voss. Please proceed to the shuttle.” He indicated a different direction now, and she walked between blue and red colored Voss to the domestic shuttle bay. The eyes of the official were burning in her back, but they were not malicious. Being an Intelligence agent in the Sith Empire had made her immune to such stares, unless they were coming from influential people in society. In which case she knew to sleep with her knives a little closer. There were a not small number of people in the Empire who felt she, as a Twi-lek, belonged to the slave pits rather than the high-end streets of Dromund Kaas. 

The shuttle ride was smooth and quiet. The Voss were not known for their chattiness, and being in a small, confined space gave them no cause to enquire. D’dhellia smoothed the tight shirt which she had donned. It was dark blue with grey linings. The closest item to Voss wear that she could find, although without a doubt Phi-Ton would find her something more fitting. 

She hadn’t talked to Raina about it, but they were coming up on their first wedding anniversary. In hindsight, maybe Raina did know and that is why she suggested going to Voss. She would have to question it out of her once she was back on the Phantom. Of course in the past year, Phi-Ton and her had only seen each other twice. The first time they got married. The second time was a stolen moment when a mission brought her close to Voss, and they had some time to spare there. Their relationship could hardly be called a marriage. Phi-Ton knew it too. She had only married him to get along in her mission to go to the Nightmare Carvings. As Voss he was used to restraining unwanted feelings for his entire life, so he didn’t particularly seem to care where she was. She certainly hadn’t wasted any time to update him on her whereabouts. Still he had welcomed her back with the same kindness and mysteriousness last time. They had shared the Rite of Ardor again. Although you shouldn’t call it the Rite of Ardor after the first time, D’dhellia supposed. Then it became just common intercourse, if anything could be called common with the Voss. 

The tea house door was open, inviting both Voss and foreigners at most hours of the day. She stepped inside and was greeted by the familiar smell of incense and tea. Naya-Ton stood just behind the entrance. She did not react with evident joy, but D’dhellia could read the Voss facial expressions well enough to know she was not unwelcome. 

“You have come. Phi-Ton will be pleased. He is out, but he will return soon,” her sister-in-law said calmly. 

“Tell me how I can assist you while I wait,” D’dhellia replied. 

She spent the better part of an hour calmly cleaning out tea pots, while she chatted with Naya-Ton about the changes Voss was going through. They spoke of the future, the past, and memories of Bas-Ton (which were largely fabricated on D’dhellia ’s side). This simple conversation was what drew D’dhellia to Voss. These people were the closest thing she’d ever gotten to a family. There was no passion in her marriage to Phi-Ton, but there was affection and familial love. In Bas-Ton’s tea house she could feel calm, and almost forget about the Empire, her goals to reach the top of the Intelligence chain, her constant endeavors to find freedom despite the ugliness of her racial background and history in the eyes of the Empire. Here she could just be. It had been a long time before she had come to accept that she could allow herself to just be Phi-Ton’s wife, without any double motives. 

\--  
“My wife. You have come,” Phi-Ton’s voice sounded behind her. Immediately she got up and spun around to see him, almost dropping the tea pot from her hands. He looked well. Older, but well. It was said the Voss matured the most in the year after their wedding, because they had grown from Children to full Voss. D’dhellia supposed there was a physical maturity in that process as well. His eyes shined bright yellow, and she could see her coming had given him pleasure. 

The Voss were not fond of open displays of affection, unlike her own race, so it took some effort to adhere to the Voss’ rituals in this situation. Still, she remembered what to do from her readings on the culture of the people she had married into. She touched his hands, his forehead and bowed. 

“You bring joy. Share my time,” Phi-Ton said in reply, and took her hand to guide her to a private room in the tea house. He sat het down on the sofa and knelt in front of the low table to pour her tea. He did it with such calmness and control. It was almost meditation to watch. 

“Your coming is a great surprise,” Phi-Ton said, while the tea cup slowly filled to the brim.

“I had no time to warn you of my arrival,” D’dhellia replied. “It was a rather sudden decision.” 

Phi-Ton smiled widely, a non-Voss like gesture which she guessed he adopted to make her feel more comfortable. Or maybe this was Voss behavior to their wives only. 

“My wife needs not give a warning to arrive. You are most welcome. I only hope it is affection and family that brought you here, not grief and strife.”

He put the small, steaming cup of tea in front of her, turning it the right way for her to drink. Then turned his own cup and sipped it gently. If the word ‘elegance’ could be applied to a man, Phi-Ton was the prime example of it. 

“I suppose it is grief and strife that brought me here,” D’dhellia pondered. “There is something brewing in the world, a slumbering danger that could destroy life as we know it. There is a sense of urgency to get to the bottom of it, but I haven’t been able to work fast enough. It’s… frustrating.” 

She took the cup of tea in her hands although it was still too hot, and allowed the heat to burn her fingers until they stung. 

“There is a great weight resting on your shoulders. You came here to lighten it. If there is any way I can assist in your mission, I will do so. If not, I shall endeavor to provide you the rest required to heal your mind.” Phi-Ton stepped towards her and took the cup from her hands to put it back on the table. Then he massaged her burned palms, the pale green skin had turned dark from the heat. 

A sigh escaped her lips. D’dhellia was surprised how at ease she felt around her Voss husband. Maybe it was because he was the most detached from her normal life and activities than any man she had ever met. Maybe it was the thought she could kill him with a flick of her wrist if he started knowing too much. Or maybe it was his calm, disarming demeanor, which gave her the space to express herself emotionally, like no one had ever given her the chance to. 

She sank into his arms, resting her head on his broad shoulder. She felt his lips press a kiss on her bare head, between the spotted lekku. 

“What do you fight for, my love?” Phi-Ton’s voice asked. 

“For the Empire,” came the answer without hesitation, a doctrine well-established in her soul. Even though the Empire had conditioned her to obey without choice. Even though the Dark Council had disbanded the organization she had given her life to, and cast her out after everything she had done. Even though they had most likely killed the Minister of Intelligence, the person she had looked up to as a father. Even though that father had betrayed her too. 

“When we were married, you asked me if I was sure. I told you I was. Afterwards, during the Rite of Ardor, you told me you felt a guilt, because in your perspective, you had taken away my choice to marry as I please. To be ‘hitched’, as I remember you phrased it, to an off-world wife, limiting my freedom to live and love as I pleased, you felt it to be an injustice. This was important to you. Your feelings at that time had nothing to do with the Empire. Allow me to rephrase my earlier question. Why do you fight, my love?”

D’dhellia was quiet for a long time, taking the time to formulate an answer to this question. Phi-Ton’s large hands stroke the upper part of her lekku, and the touch gave her pleasure and calm. Why did she struggle and fight for all these long years to get higher up in Intelligence? Was it gratitude, for taking her from the slave pits of Zygerria? No, it was the workings of the Empire that put her there in the first place. She had created the opportunity for her release herself, by making herself visible to the Imperial inspector and proving her worth to him. She owed no one but herself for that freedom, and she certainly did not owe the Empire for it. Maybe she wanted to prove a Twi’lek alien could be successful in the Empire? But that was such a far-fetched ideal. Of course she sympathized with the handful of Sith who believed in opportunities for all, regardless of race or gender. She would always support those if they worked in her favor. But she did not think of her fellow Twi’lek as people worth lifting up to a higher standard within the Empire. That was not her goal. Everybody had to make their own way and struggle for their own freedom. She was not aiming to be a pioneer for those aliens who did not have the strength or wits to make life better for themselves. 

“Freedom,” the word came out of her mouth and immediately she knew it was the right answer. “I fight for the freedom to make my own choices. And for the power to remove any obstacles to my freedom.” 

She sat up straighter, turning her face to look into Phi-Ton’s red-yellow eyes. “That’s it. I’ve been frustrated that one road to that freedom got blocked when I was removed from Intelligence. But it was really only one path. There are others that lead to freedom and power.” 

The relief at letting go of her frustration regarding the Intelligence Service made her feel giddy, and she leant forward to kiss Phi-Ton deeply. He kissed her back, but his passion had not awakened yet. 

“You must drink your tea first, my wife. It is a bad omen to let it grow cold. Especially when it was made with love.” 

D’dhellia smiled at his lingering formality and took the tea. 

“This danger to the world. Will defeating it make you stronger and more powerful?” Phi-Ton asked, while she sipped the broth. 

D’dhellia nodded. Whatever the outcome of this mission, she was learning about a dark undercurrent that was present on any civilized world, both Imperial and Republic, and it would give her much leverage over both societies. 

“Then perhaps this is your new path to freedom. I am no Mystic, I cannot see. But whatever path you choose, you must do it for you, not for your Empire.” 

“When did you become so wise, Phi-Ton?” D’dhellia chuckled. But his words had resonated within her, and ignited a new fire in her heart. 

“If I was wise, I would be a Mystic. As I am not, I cannot claim wisdom,” was his reply. But he did not have time to say more on it, because another deep kiss silenced him. And together they performed the rite which had bound them the year before. 


	4. Theron - Cipher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During Shadow of Revan, first arrival on Rishi

“Hello Theron.” 

The clear, accented voice sent shivers down his spine. Her blue eyes in her green face were taking him in, up and down. Theron wished he had shaved. He was in full-Rishi clothing, set off only by his regular red jacket, and he hadn’t looked at a mirror in some time. There was no use for it when you were locked up with Lana and Jakarro on a far-off pirate planet. She looked fresh and clean, energetic and full of life. It took his breath away.

“Is that a good hello or a bad hello? Outside of Lana I can never tell with you Imperial types,” he managed to reply. It was a rude thing to say, but his only functional brain cells didn’t have time for second thoughts. And although he called her an Imperial type, she did not look Imperial at all this time. She was wearing a tight, grey jacket, latched on the front with heavy buckles. Her leggings were stuck in large leather boots. She looked almost like a normal person. No doubt she had dressed like the pirate she was meant to portray. But it felt unnatural seeing her out of the white Imperial uniform or the armored field outfits. 

“Are you really asking me that after the last time I saw you?” 

More shivers down his spine. It was all he could do not to show his surprise on his face. 

“Okay. Point taken.” 


	5. Cipher - Lana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shadow of Revan, after Theron’s capture by the Revanites

Charming Theron was always going to be part of the plan. Of course, D’dhellia would not have forced it if she saw no potential in it. But Theron seemed struck by her appearance and her ability to get the job done. For someone who had clearly been a workaholic his whole life, the latter trait alone would warrant an attraction of some sort. She had skillfully molded it into the right kind of attraction, and after chatting to the SIS agent on several occasions after their reunion on Rishi, D’dhellia was confident enough to report her having established a romantic interest with him. Of course, she currently did not have anyone to report this to, but it would prove useful for her own goals.

There were numerous advantages to being romantically involved with the Republic spy. The first of all was the unsurmountable fact that he was in fact Republican. The unique circumstances of their mission put her in this favorable position where they were working towards a common goal. This naturally created a sense of loyalty and commitment. If she had assessed Theron’s personality rightly, he would find it difficult to completely cut ties with her after their goal was achieved, providing her with a clever window into Republic affairs. And if she really managed to make him fall in love with her, he would not use that window the other way around for his own advantage. He was too righteous for it. A righteous spy, as long as he believed D’dhellia had good in her.

It was with these surmises in her mind that D’dhellia was able to commend Lana Beniko for setting up such a clever plan as getting the spy captured by the Revanites. 

“We’re talking about a seasoned SIS operative. If the Revanites took him to their base, he could learn a lot,” she said. After all, she had allowed herself to be tortured for a day by lackeys of the Star Cabal. It was never going to be the first plan of choice to the agent undergoing such procedures, but given that the situation occurred, she did not think it inconvenient at all. 

Nevertheless, the memories of what had been done to her on Corellia sent shivers down her spine. Having submitted to the torture voluntarily, and having dragged it out for as long as it did for it to appear genuine, she had never been offered the counseling options the Empire usually reserved for agents coming back from an ordeal like that. In fact, no one had ever asked her about it at all. She had simply filed a report and had a debriefing. Even an experienced cipher agent like herself could not go through something so intense without having some mental scarring. 

The thought of Theron suffering the same made her inexplicably angry. More so than she could allow herself to feel in a professional way. So she quickly cut those thoughts short. It was not going to happen. She would extract him before he would be in any real distress. And he would bring valuable information with him. 


End file.
